What the Academy Should Have Nominated

The 2012 Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and as is typically the case, there are some hits and some misses. I'm pleased that the Academy recognized The Tree of Life (best picture, best director, best cinematography), but I'm also perplexed by some of its other choices (Demian Bichir best actor for A Better Life? No Michael Fassbender?). If I were to have a say in the nominations, they would have gone something like this:

Best Picture: The Tree of Life, Melancholia, Of Gods and Men, Poetry, Certified Copy, The Artist, Take Shelter, Meek's Cutoff, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation, Poetry, Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall His Past Lives, The Mill and the Cross, Certified Copy

Best Documentary: Into the Abyss, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Bill Cunningham New York, Rebirth, Buck. 

Best Director: Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life; Lars von Trier, Melancholia; Lynne Ramsay, We Need to Talk About Kevin; Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist; Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter.

Best Actor: Brad Pitt, Moneyball; Michael Shannon, Take Shelter; Michael Fassbender, Shame; Ralph Fiennes, Coriolanus; Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy. 

Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia; Elizabeth Olson, Martha Marcy May Marlene; Michelle Williams, Meek's Cutoff; Jeong-hie Yun, Poetry; Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor: Jonah Hill, Moneyball; Albert Brooks, Drive; Nick Nolte, Warrior; Ezra Miller, We Need to Talk About Kevin; Patton Oswalt, Young Adult.

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life; Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus; Charlotte Gainsbourgh, Melancholia; Carey Mulligan, Shame; Jennifer Ehle, Contagion.